{"id":825,"date":"2021-12-08T17:26:01","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T17:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/?p=825"},"modified":"2021-12-20T05:34:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T05:34:00","slug":"gov-northam-releases-long-awaited-plan-to-address-sea-level-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/?p=825","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Northam releases long-awaited plan to address sea level rise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo by Jonah Grinkewitz. High-tide flooding is happening more often around Hampton Roads as sea levels rise.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is part of\u00a0\u201cAt A Crossroads,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0a WHRO Public Media series exploring how coastal Virginia is dealing with higher waters due to climate change. The project is funded by the\u00a0Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting\u00a0<\/a>as part of its nationwide\u00a0Connected Coastlines reporting initiative<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Sam Turken<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Ralph Northam\u2019s administration has released a long-awaited guide to address sea level rise around the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Coastal Resilience Master Plan<\/a> identifies areas most at risk of flooding. Eastern Virginia experiences the fastest average rate of sea level rise on the Atlantic Coast, and the plan is supposed to guide state and local officials as they consider projects to keep areas dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among key findings is that nearly a million people could live in homes exposed to extreme flooding by 2080. Other areas will go underwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the first time we have a baseline level of knowledge about how sea level rise and storm surge will increase flooding,\u201d Northam said during a news conference in Hampton Tuesday. \u201cThat will help us support responsible coastal planning where it is most needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State officials have spent the last four years producing the sweeping guide. Much of that time involved collaborating with localities and planning district commissions to determine the best ways to address flooding in specific areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the plan\u2019s fate is unclear. Republican Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin could decide to no longer follow it once he takes office in January. During his campaign, he criticized Virginia\u2019s Clean Economy Act<\/a> but expressed support for sea level rise resilience efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His transition team could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The master plan recommends nature-based solutions \u2014 like restoring wetlands to absorb floodwater \u2014 as well as infrastructure improvements, such as installing pump stations and elevating seawalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Phillips, the governor\u2019s special assistant for coastal adaptation and protection, said the guide will help localities coordinate projects and even bundle them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, she noted Norfolk has completed a study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that suggests putting a tide gate across Broad Creek to reduce flooding. Virginia Beach has conducted a separate study that recommends a gate across the Elizabeth River\u2019s eastern branch that will also protect Norfolk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to reconcile those two things,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cWe have to look at what will be most cost-effective, what will add the most value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stakes are huge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sea levels around Hampton Roads have risen nearly 20 inches over the past century<\/a> and could go up nearly seven feet by 2100<\/a>. A map<\/a> produced by Old Dominion University in partnership with WHRO Public Media shows thousands of homes going underwater in the next few decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The master plan also suggests some areas could eventually become uninhabitable. Northam said it may not make financial sense to invest millions of dollars temporarily protecting them. Instead, the state and localities will have to manage an effort to relocate residents out of harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northam acknowledged that will be difficult for many people who don\u2019t want to leave their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is our duty as public servants to have honest, frank conversations about these facts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another main aspect of the plan stresses adaptation efforts should be equitable across communities of different socioeconomic levels. Racial and ethnic minorities have historically inhabited areas in Virginia that are more prone to flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State officials plan to update the Coastal Resilience Master Plan every five years. Virginia will fund the response to sea level rise by capping carbon emissions and selling allowances to companies as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative<\/a>. The RGGI fund is expected to generate more than $100 million annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow comes the long-term work of successfully implementing the plan, which will require adequate funding and policies to address the distinct needs of our rural, urban, Tribal, and socially vulnerable communities,\u201d said Elizabeth Andrews, director of the Virginia Coastal Policy Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Phillips is a member of WHRO’s Governing Board of Directors.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The plan is supposed to guide state and local officials as they consider projects to keep areas dry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=825"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":880,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825\/revisions\/880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}